Reaper (Episode)
"Reaper" is the seventeenth episode in the first season of Smallville, and seventeenth episode overall. It aired on April 23, 2002. Summary Tyler Randall is resurrected after a piece of meteor rock is embedded in his wrist at the time of death. Everyone he touches turns to ash. At first he tries to help the terminally ill by putting them out of their misery, promising them a painless death, but soon gains an addiction to what he does. Meanwhile, Lex thwarts his father's attempt to audit his books, and Whitney works up the courage to visit his ailing father. Recap Tyler Randall has come to visit his dying mother in the hospital. She asks him to help her die and requests to be buried in Smallville. He smothers her with a pillow, and when the life support alarms sound, a nurse enters, followed by a doctor and security. In the struggle, Tyler falls out the window more than 20 feet to his death. The coroner finds the kryptonite meteor fragment from Tyler's bracelet wedged between the bones in his wrist and removes it, causing a green aura to radiate throughout Tyler's body. Just before the coroner begins to cut him open, Tyler grabs his arm, and the coroner turns to dust. Tyler walks out of the room. Martha and Clark arrive at Mobile Meals and meet Tyler Randall, the new volunteer. Their first stop is to see Mrs. Sikes and her dog Pepper. Mrs. Sikes is bedridden and in pain. They have brought her irises today. She asks them to bring white roses tomorrow. At the Luthor Mansion, Dominic Sanatori has arrived, ostensibly to perform an audit. Lex makes it clear that Dominic is not wanted there. Sanatori goes to the Kent Farm and asks Jonathan Kent if he has any idea why Lex spent so much money researching the car crash and the Kent family. Jonathan doesn’t know why, but he isn't happy to know that Lex has been prying into their lives. Lex meets Clark at the Talon, and Clark tells him about how he and Jonathan go fishing every year, but he has since grown out of it and doesn't really want to go. Lex offers him two tickets to see the Metropolis Sharks as a substitute for the fishing trip. Lana receives a call: George Fordman has had another heart attack. Clark and Lana visit Mr. Fordman in the hospital, but Whitney hasn't arrived yet. When Clark arrives home, he finds his dad preparing for the fishing trip. Clark asks if he wouldn't prefer to go to the football game instead. Jonathan suspects that he got the tickets from Lex, and tells Clark that Lex has been investigating them. Clark reveals that he already knows that, and Jonathan is furious that Clark didn't tell him sooner. Finally Clark blows up and tells his father that he's not a little kid any more and he doesn't even like fishing. Late that night, Tyler Randall arrives at Mrs. Sikes' home. He has come to put her out of her misery. As Tyler walks in the door Pepper begins barking as usual. Tyler quiets the dog forever and gives Mrs. Sikes a white rose. He takes her by the hand, and she turns to ash. The next morning, Martha tries to encourage Clark to work things out with his dad. At school, Chloe tells Clark about Mrs. Sikes. Although the official story is that she died in a fire, Chloe is going to look into the possibility that she died from spontaneous combustion. Clark talks with Whitney and learns that his dad always promised to be there the day Whitney threw his first pass for the Metropolis Sharks. Whitney just doesn't want to see his dad so weak in the hospital. He would rather remember him as he was when he was strong. Clark tells him he would rather have the man than the memory any day. Chloe finds an article in the Daily Planet about a coroner who was turned into a pile of ash, so they decide to go to Mrs. Sikes' house to investigate. They see no sign of fire damage anywhere, but they do find Pepper's ID tag in a small pile of ash. They also find a white rose in a vase. Lex arrives at the Kent Farm to ask if Jonathan is going to the game on Sunday. Jonathan says that he is going fishing, and he confronts Lex about investigating his family. Lex claims that he was completely honest with Clark about that. Martha arrives at Mobile Meals to deliver some extra produce. When Tyler tries to help her with the vegetables, they turn to ash. Martha guesses that he killed Mrs. Sikes, and asks Hank to call the sheriff. Tyler tries to run, and Hank grabs him and turns to ash. Clark arrives to find Tyler approaching his mother and super-speeds between them. Tyler puts his hand on Clark's face. Clark's skin turns gray and he winces in pain, but he throws Tyler across the room, and his face returns to normal. Tyler disappears. Back home, Clark tells his dad that he saw Tyler's heart wasn’t beating. At the Talon, Clark warns Lana about Tyler. Lana thanks him for talking with Whitney, and Lex rescinds his offer of football tickets. He wants Clark to go fishing and spend some time with his dad. He doesn't want to come between Clark and his father. Lana finds Whitney in Smallville Cemetery at the Langs' grave. Whitney admits that in all the time that they spent together, he had never been there before. He just didn’t want to think about ever losing his parents. After Whitney leaves, Tyler approaches Lana. He says he doesn't want to hurt anybody. He just wants to help. He's going to try to help Whitney's father. At the Talon, Chloe has received more information on Tyler Randall. The toxicology report indicates that he was taking a lot of painkillers. There is also the news that he failed to actually kill his mother. She recovered from her illness, and she was sent home. Lana arrives to tell Clark that Tyler is going after Mr. Fordman. Clark speeds away and finds Tyler in Mr. Fordman's room. He has knocked Whitney unconscious. Clark throws Tyler out of the room and tells Tyler that his mother is still alive. They go to her house, where she is sleeping peacefully. Tyler realizes that he wasn't really trying to stop others' pain, he was trying to relieve his own. He puts his palms together and turns himself to ash. That same night at the Luthor Mansion, Lex drugs Dominic Sanatori. The next morning he meets his father in Metropolis with Sanatori in the trunk. Lex tells his dad not to send any more drones to bother him or the Kents. His father actually seems proud of how Lex handled Sanatori. At Clark's request, Lex arranges it so that the Metropolis Sharks come to Smallville and play a little scrimmage for Mr. Fordman with his son as their quarterback. Main Cast Starring * Clark Kent * Lana Lang * Lex Luthor * Whitney Fordman * Pete Ross * Chloe Sullivan * Martha Kent * Jonathan Kent Special Guest Star * Lionel Luthor Guest Starring * Tyler Randall * Dominic Sanatori * Birdy Sikes Co-Starring * Rose Randall * Hank Pond * George Fordman Notes * Antagonist: Tyler Randall * Lex says he received a copy of The Will to Power for his tenth birthday, an extremely complex manuscript by Friedrich Nietzsche. Lex states the main concept of the text: man is something to be overcome. This is called Übermensch, which translates to "super man" or "over man." This is the second time the philosopher is mentioned (the first being the Pilot.) Lex also quotes the famous line, "Behold the Superman". * The symbol of Mobile Meals is ironically two hands touching. This represents Tyler's ability and death. * At the time Mrs. Randall asks her son to kill her, she does not appear too sick to swallow. For such patients who wish to die, it is much more common to administer a lethal dose of barbiturates. * Despite the fact that George Fordman was constantly mentioned in the second half of this season, this is the only episode where he actually appears. Spoilers * Dominic Sanatori returns with far more sinister intentions in season 2's Suspect. * Lex said that when Clark's father died, his friends would be there. In season 5's Reckoning, Jonathan's friends and family attended the funeral as well as Lionel and Lex. * Lex says to Clark that when Lionel dies, kings will come to his funeral. In season 7's Descent, only Lex and Clark attend Lionel's funeral (due to Lex closing the funeral to everyone but himself). Locations * Smallville ** Kent Farm *** Kent House ** Luthor Mansion ** Smallville High School *** The Torch ** Smallville Medical Center ** The Talon ** Smallville Cemetery ** Mobile Meals Quotes :Lex: My father's disappointment is perennial. Only the circumstances change. What do you want, Dominic? :Martha: You can't save them from old age and illness, but that's not the point. You're saving them from loneliness. :Lex: Do you know what my father gave me for my tenth birthday? A copy of The Will to Power. "Behold the superman. Man is something to be overcome." Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Nietzsche, they were the voices that nurtured me after my mother died. My father made every question a quiz, every choice a test. Second best was for losers, compassion for the weak, trust no one. Those were the lessons I grew up with. :Lex: When my father dies, kings will come to his funeral, but when yours does, his friends will come. Category:Episodes Category:Smallville Episodes Category:Smallville Season 1 Episodes